This Interagency agreement was put in place as part of the NIH?s response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak that occurred in the US in 2015. Under this agreement, samples from sea ducks along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America at different times of the year and at various locations in Canada and the US will be collected and tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza. Additionally, experimental challenge studies will be conducted to determine pathogenicity of viruses collected in various avian species.